what he considered the corrupting influence of Henry Clay and the divisive tactics of John C. Calhoun, whose nullification and Southern-party policies Ritchie detested. Late in his life, Ritchie denounced abolitionists but supported gradual emancipation. In the 1844 US presidential election, Ritchie supported James K. Polk because of Polk's support for the annexation of Texas. Polk brought Ritchie to Washington to edit the national paper The Union (1845 to 1851). Ritchie supported the Compromise of 1850, but the new paper never was as influential as the Enquirer. Meanwhile, Ritchie had lost his Virginia base, as his son and namesake took over the Richmond Enquirer. In 1846, Thomas Ritchie Jr. killed Richmond Whig founder and editor John Hampden Pleasants in a duel. See also Charles Henry Ambler – Preeminent Virginia & West Virginia historian, and Thomas Ritchie biographer History of Virginia History of West Virginia References Charles H. Ambler, Thomas Ritchie: A Study in Virginia Politics (1913) Pearson, C. C. "Ritchie, Thomas" in Dictionary of American Biography, Volume 8 (1935) Journalists from Virginia Writers from Richmond, Virginia 1778 births 1854 deaths 19th-century American journalists 19th-century American male writers American male journalists American duellists